Hope I'm not overposting (or about to start) on this ...
I've heard a broad range of estimates on how much battery life the MixPre 3/6 will get on the rechargeable lithium AA batteries.
I have the basic 4 AA 'sled' and I thought it would be useful to know people's specific experiences with specific products. Obviously "it depends" but any specific experience would be useful.
I'm considering whether the AAs are even worth it or just go to one of those usb power bricks.

Hope I'm not overposting (or about to start) on this ...
I've heard a broad range of estimates on how much battery life the MixPre 3/6 will get on the rechargeable lithium AA batteries.
I have the basic 4 AA 'sled' and I thought it would be useful to know people's specific experiences with specific products. Obviously "it depends" but any specific experience would be useful.
I'm considering whether the AAs are even worth it or just go to one of those usb power bricks.

Thanks.

From your previous posts you evidently have a Mixpre-3, which - by virtue of only three pre-amps providing P48v - is the least power-hungry of the series. As you already have this in hand, know your usage best, and have your mics (with specific power consumption), then it is best to test for yourself with AAs. I used a few powering options to start with (I have had a Mixpre-3 from when they first came out), but fairly early on realized that the 4 x AA sled was actually the best option for my purposes, with decent rechargeables of course - I use Eneloop Pros (2500mAh). They give 2-3hrs with 2-3 P48v mics, are easy to swap out (I have 3 sets), avoid the less than robust USB connection or the bulk of external Sony L-type batteries via the MX-L mount (or 3rd party equivalent), and maintain the (usefully) diminutive size of the recorder.

i have the mixpre6m. i found the 4 battery sled with 2100nimhs just recording one or 2 mics only gave me a couple hrs or so, but i got the latest Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD and i think it will give me maybe 10-12 (i haven't drained it yet). well worth it

ps i'm more stationary and recording acoustic instruments for longer sessions off grid, so the usb c connection doesn't feel like an issue.

i have the mixpre6m. i found the 4 battery sled with 2100nimhs just recording one or 2 mics only gave me a couple hrs or so, but i got the latest Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD and i think it will give me maybe 10-12 (i haven't drained it yet). well worth it

ps i'm more stationary and recording acoustic instruments for longer sessions off grid, so the usb c connection doesn't feel like an issue.

That Sony MX-L sled looks like the best option. You can get two 8500mAh batteries plus a charger from Wasabi power on Amazon for $60. I've used the Wasabi stuff for years. On my GoPros, GH4s, GH5s, for the SD788, for Canon batteries on the SmallHD 502 monitor and the Edelkrone slider...always good.

That Sony MX-L sled looks like the best option. You can get two 8500mAh batteries plus a charger from Wasabi power on Amazon for $60. I've used the Wasabi stuff for years. On my GoPros, GH4s, GH5s, for the SD788, for Canon batteries on the SmallHD 502 monitor and the Edelkrone slider...always good.

I just ordered a MixPre10t and planning to power it with the MX-L and/or a standard v-mount battery via D-Tap to Hirose cable.

Thanks for the tip -- that is $60 plus another $60 for the battery sled, it doesn't come with the mixpre3. This is how fast you get into hundreds on batteries. They're getting $60-$70 for a little piece of molded soft plastic that holds 8AAs or this L batt -- it's way over the line. Hope somebody in China is listening and goes into the business of making dupes, because it would be super easy to copy at $1 a piece.

Man, I'm starting to feel like the unit should have come with some kind of lithium battery, like a cell phone does, because it's not like you can throw AAs in there and go use it. It's their way of keeping their margin up. There are other drawbacks to it, but it does sound great -- that is, doesn't sound like anything.

Man, I'm starting to feel like the unit should have come with some kind of lithium battery, like a cell phone does, because it's not like you can throw AAs in there and go use it. It's their way of keeping their margin up. There are other drawbacks to it, but it does sound great -- that is, doesn't sound like anything.

What exactly are you using your new mixpre-3 for? I use mine for film sound, nature recording and music recording and, as I said previously, despite having external power options, I find these gathering dust and that 3 sets of 4 Eneloop Pro AAs are actually a very viable, compact and robust powering option: that's after a year and half of hard use/experience. No need to be so dismissive of this option.

What exactly are you using your new mixpre-3 for? I use mine for film sound, nature recording and music recording and, as I said previously, despite having external power options, I find these gathering dust and that 3 sets of 4 Eneloop Pro AAs are actually a very viable, compact and robust powering option: that's after a year and half of hard use/experience. No need to be so dismissive of this option.

Cheers,

Roland

Same here;
- Film sound with two 48v -- would like to have a solid 3hr option, and maybe more depending on $
- Recording guitar in the VW van at hte beach

The latter won't be very power hungry, using a guit headphone amp as a DI. Trying to just work out the best values in mAh per $ here. These anecdotal reports are super useful.

When you consider your investment in time and money to get to the places where you will record, arrangements with artists, post production, your mics, your software and all your other expenses, is another $120 really that consequential? It seems pretty reasonable for two 8.5Ah packs that will run your MixPre all day long, a sled and a charger. What matters is the value that it adds. Does it add $60 of value to your work in the field? I think it's hard to argue that it doesn't. If it saves you just one fire drill replacing those AA batteries, or having that USB cable get knocked our of your recorder, it has paid for itself. The cost of goods sold is irrelevant. I for one do not hope that some Chinese company violates Sound Devices' intellectual property rights by cloning the MX-L sled. We've had enough of that.

If you add up the costs to have that sled designed in CAD, the cost of having the metal tools made to mold them in series, production, final assembly and testing, then factor in how many they will actually sell (MixPres are not exactly a high volume consumer product), I'd be surprised if their margin on those sleds to distributors is even 15-20% It will likely be a few years before they recover their design, tooling and production costs on those things. Plastic is the least of their costs.

This reminds me of my friends in the model sailplane crowd. These guys spend $2500 on a beautiful, high tech, 4-meter hollow molded carbon fiber airframe from Germany, then they'll put another $500 of electronics in it to control all the surfaces. And then they'll engage in a lively discussion thread 200 posts long about where to find the cheapest NiMh batteries and the cheapest way to make a battery pack. They will scavenge the discount bins at Walmart to find the cheapest NiMh batteries possible and waste their time doing all sorts of tests on them. Given all the hours they'd spent building up such a valuable airframe, not to mention the money they'd spent on ancillaries, it always seemed odd to me that would focus so much attention on saving $50-100 bucks on batteries - the very thing that keeps the electronics running and allows the plane to remain under radio control. Madness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by szegedin

Thanks for the tip -- that is $60 plus another $60 for the battery sled, it doesn't come with the mixpre3. This is how fast you get into hundreds on batteries. They're getting $60-$70 for a little piece of molded soft plastic that holds 8AAs or this L batt -- it's way over the line. Hope somebody in China is listening and goes into the business of making dupes, because it would be super easy to copy at $1 a piece.

Man, I'm starting to feel like the unit should have come with some kind of lithium battery, like a cell phone does, because it's not like you can throw AAs in there and go use it. It's their way of keeping their margin up. There are other drawbacks to it, but it does sound great -- that is, doesn't sound like anything.

i have the mixpre6m. i found the 4 battery sled with 2100nimhs just recording one or 2 mics only gave me a couple hrs or so, but i got the latest Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD and i think it will give me maybe 10-12 (i haven't drained it yet). well worth it

ps i'm more stationary and recording acoustic instruments for longer sessions off grid, so the usb c connection doesn't feel like an issue.

I'm lucky to get 40 minutes of recording time with 4 Eneloop AA batteries in the sled on my MixPre 6. I too bought an Anker PowerCore+ (although mine is the 20100 model) and it's amazing...definitely good for recording all day if you have to. The USB-C connector seems to fit tighter than the one on the cable that comes with the MixPre 3 or 6 and I haven't had any disconnects, although I leave the 4 Eneloops in the battery sled when recording to serve as instant backup just in case.

My only complaint about the Anker Powercore is that it's not physically attached to the recorder so if you're using a bag or otherwise mobile it's not really an optimal solution. I feel the Wasabi batteries and charger in my future (also a big fan of Wasabi; I use them for my cinema camera)

Here ya go. MixPre10t powered by 14.8V Powerbase 70 (77wh) via D-Tap to Hirose cable, with a Sony L series battery in the sled. I expect this would run the MixPre10t for more than an entire day. The Powerbase 70 is a V-mount battery that also has a handy quick-release tripod plate, so the MixPre can just snap on and off the whole rig. All mounted to a Really Right Stuff tabletop tripod. My only concern is whether the little tripod will still be stable once 8 XLR cables are attached to the recorder.

I used a few powering options to start with (I have had a Mixpre-3 from when they first came out), but fairly early on realized that the 4 x AA sled was actually the best option for my purposes, with decent rechargeables of course - I use Eneloop Pros (2500mAh). They give 2-3hrs with 2-3 P48v mics

Quote:

Originally Posted by b.lodge

i have the mixpre6m. i found the 4 battery sled with 2100nimhs just recording one or 2 mics only gave me a couple hrs or so

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradh

I'm lucky to get 40 minutes of recording time with 4 Eneloop AA batteries in the sled on my MixPre 6.

Consistent with the first two quoted posts (and SD's claims), with my MixPre6, four Eneloops AAs, and usually 3 phantom power mics, I usually get between 2:00 and 2:15.

40 minutes seems awfully low with quality batteries like Eneloops. Are you running mics with particularly high phantom draw? Are you running the screen on full brightness? Something seems wrong.

Consistent with the first two quoted posts (and SD's claims), with my MixPre6, four Eneloops AAs, and usually 3 phantom power mics, I usually get between 2:00 and 2:15.

40 minutes seems awfully low with quality batteries like Eneloops. Are you running mics with particularly high phantom draw? Are you running the screen on full brightness? Something seems wrong.

Good to hear your experience is similar to mine. Eneloop, of course, is simply a brand, with its AA rechargeables currently comprising the 'lite' model at 950mAH, the simple 'Eneloop' model at 1900mAH, and the 'pro' model, which I use, at 2500mAH: the latter are excellent, but perhaps not what bradh tried?

Good to hear your experience is similar to mine. Eneloop, of course, is simply a brand, with its AA rechargeables currently comprising the 'lite' model at 950mAH, the simple 'Eneloop' model at 1900mAH, and the 'pro' model, which I use, at 2500mAH: the latter are excellent, but perhaps not what bradh tried?

Yep, I'm using the 1900 mAH Panasonic Eneloops. I've been using Line Audio CM3s and OM1s (I also tried with a couple of Earthworks mics, which I know are very power-hungry, so that doesn't count). I probably do have my screen brightness at the highest level, and I'm playing back as well as recording; I haven't just let the recorder run (most of my recordings are short and I listen back to them), so all of those factors may be at play.

Great thread. I'm getting a MixPre 6 this coming week. This helps me a lot with navigating the power "issues." I'm starting off with an Anker Powercore+ but we'll see where I go from there, I'm thinking the L mount option sounds good to me, although expensive once the Sony parts are purchased (batteries and charger).

Might buy some Eneloop batteries just for "quickies" or something since it comes with the 4AA sled in the box.

Great thread. I'm getting a MixPre 6 this coming week. This helps me a lot with navigating the power "issues." I'm starting off with an Anker Powercore+ but we'll see where I go from there, I'm thinking the L mount option sounds good to me, although expensive once the Sony parts are purchased (batteries and charger).

Might buy some Eneloop batteries just for "quickies" or something since it comes with the 4AA sled in the box.

I've been going "belt and suspenders" on my Mixpre-6 with both the Anker Powercore and the 4xAA sled. I tried pulling the cable a few times and experienced no glitches, same thing using the AC supply plus sled. For the 2018-2019 season I left the AC supply at home - so much easier just hooking up the Powercore and not having to hunt for an AC receptacle!

I've been going "belt and suspenders" on my Mixpre-6 with both the Anker Powercore and the 4xAA sled. I tried pulling the cable a few times and experienced no glitches, same thing using the AC supply plus sled. For the 2018-2019 season I left the AC supply at home - so much easier just hooking up the Powercore and not having to hunt for an AC receptacle!

I was just thinking about redundant power last night.... I'm really excited. This seems like a really reliable mobile/live recorder, only thing that could go wrong I'm thinking would be some kind of SD card failure. In which case maybe streaming to a laptop DAW as a redundant data capture might be a good idea.

In a matter of hours I'll be getting my Mix Pre 6 I'm very excited. The Anker Powercore+ USB-C just showed up and is charging!

Just got a L sled and Watson battery and charger from B&H for $120- Very cool form factor. Batteries are only $40- and the sled will fit 2. Not sure how long it will last but figuring it should be good for a long session. I like it because it's one unit, no cables....

Just got a L sled and Watson battery and charger from B&H for $120- Very cool form factor. Batteries are only $40- and the sled will fit 2. Not sure how long it will last but figuring it should be good for a long session. I like it because it's one unit, no cables....

I was thinking about doing something like that. I'm just getting started with the Anker powercore thingy. Haven't really battle tested the rig yet other that some good sounding demo parts.

I gotta say was using it last night for an hour or so and battery icon didn't move. Nothing dangling! Very liberating... Going to buy some Eneloops for the sled as a backup and get another L Battery down the line....